Exactly how I do it. When you're by yourself, you can't have the camera ready before you catch the fish...

I net it, keep the net and fish underwater, get the phone into camera mode, raise it out of the water for the pic, lower the fish back into current, stow the phone away, remove the hook gently with hemostats, then I lower the net into the current, grab the fish, hold it with it's head in the current (reviving) until it's strong enough to swim out of my hand.

Great write up on releasing the fish. I always try to keep the fish out of water long enough to only snap the picture. If the camera isnt ready, the fish doesnt come out of the water. No fish's life is worth a picture.

Sasha, you need to catch smaller fish so we can see how big they are according to the measurements in the net.. We can't see the numbers

Sasha, my friend. Great info as well as instruction. There are definitely some differing schools of thought on this one, but I agree with you all the way. As you know, I've posted my share of pics over the past few years and if you were to track them from then until now you would notice a subtle difference in that most of my current pics are not as many of the 'grab and grin', rather most are taken right near or in or even under the surface film.

I guess it's the same type of evolution that occurs for each of us in our fishing experience.

By the way, you and those big 'O' browns are really getting to me. Here I am, all laid up due to the new hip, and you're out there just torturing me

Anyway, thanks for the tutorial. Those who read this should feel the responsibility we all have to do the best we can to be better stewards of our sport and this is just one of many we should pay attention to.